本文选自《有才》的博客，点击查看博客原文

　　US Airways Capt. Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger has flownthousands of flights in the last 42 years. 'But now,' he says, 'myentire career is being judged by how I performed on one of them.'

　　过去42年，全美航空公司(US Airways)机长萨伦伯格(Chesley 'Sully'Sullenberger)飞行了数千次航班。但他说，现在人们都因为我在一次航班的表现来评价我的整个飞行生涯。

　　That flight, of course, came last Jan. 15, when his AirbusA320 suffered a bird strike en route from New York to Charlotte,N.C., and lost both engines. Sully and First Officer Jeff Skilesexecuted an emergency landing later dubbed 'The Miracle on theHudson,' but that description never felt right to Sully。

　　这次飞行当然就是今年1月15日，萨伦伯格驾驶的空客A320飞机从纽约飞往北卡罗来纳州夏洛特的途中遭遇了飞鸟袭击，两部引擎均出故障。萨伦伯格和副机长斯基尔斯(JeffSkiles)在纽约的哈德逊河上实施了紧急迫降，这次着陆随后被赞誉为“哈德逊河上的奇迹”，但这个描述其实并不准确。

　　萨伦伯格8岁时收到的圣诞礼物是一个飞机模型。

　　He is a precise, methodical, cerebral man who carefullychooses his words. In recent months, while working on his new book,'Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters,' Sully spent agreat deal of time reviewing his life and career. He has tried tounderstand what experiences from his past prepared him for Flight1549.

　　萨伦伯格是一个一丝不苟、有条理和理智的人，措辞谨慎。最近几月在他撰写新书《最高职责：我如何寻找生命之重》(HighestDuty: My Search for What ReallyMatters)的时候，萨伦伯格花了很多时间回顾自己的人生和职业生涯。他试图了解自己过去哪些经验使得他为成功迫降1549次航班做好了准备。

　　As Sully's co-author, I clearly saw that it wasn't only hisskills as a veteran pilot that carried him in those tense momentsover Manhattan. It was also his upbringing, his family bonds, hissense of integrity -- and his own losses. Flight 1549 wasn't just afive-minute journey from LaGuardia Airport to the Hudson. Sully'sentire life led him to safely to that river。

　　作为萨伦伯格的共同作者，我清楚地了解到，在飞机于曼哈顿上空的那些紧张时刻中，帮助萨伦伯格成功的并不只有他在丰富飞行经验中练就的高超技术。在那个时候，发挥作用的还有他的成长经历、他的家庭关系、他的正直感，以及他的挫折。1549次航班并不只是从拉瓜迪亚机场飞到哈德逊河的5分钟航程那么简单，是萨伦伯格的整个人生引导着他化险为夷，安全将飞机降落在哈德逊河上。

　　He was born in Denison, Texas, the son of a dentist and ateacher who had high expectations. 'I grew up in a home where eachof us had our own hammer,' says Sully. That was because his dadkept enlarging the family home with the help of threenot-always-willing assistants: Sully, his sister and his mom. 'Thegoal was to do everything ourselves, to learn what we didn't knowand then have at it,' Sully says. The house wasn't perfect, butSully knew where every nail was。

　　萨伦伯格出生于得克萨斯州德尼逊，父母分别是牙医和教师，都有着很高的期望。萨伦伯格说，我成长在一个大家都有自己锤子的家庭。这是因为他的父亲在三个并不总是情愿的助手帮助下不断扩建房子：萨伦伯格、他的姐姐和母亲。萨伦伯格说，我们的目标是一切亲力亲为，学习我们所不知道的，然后掌握本领。他们的房子并不完美，但萨伦伯格却知道每个钉子的位置。

　　'Sometimes I'd brood, wishing we lived in a professionallybuilt house like everyone else,' he says. 'But each time the housegrew, I felt a sense of accomplishment.'

　　他说，有时候我会厌烦，希望我们能住在和别人家一样的正规修建的房子里。但每次房子扩建时，我都会有一种成就感。

　　As a boy, Sully was a classic introvert who felt thingsdeeply. In 1964, for instance, he saw news reports about a New Yorkwoman named Kitty Genovese. Her neighbors heard her screams as shewas being stabbed to death by a stranger outside her apartment.Allegedly, they did nothing to help。

　　孩童时期，萨伦伯格是一个典型的敏感内向的孩子。举例来说，1964年他读到关于一位叫热内瓦斯(KittyGenovese)的纽约女士的新闻报道。热内瓦斯在自己公寓外被一名陌生人持刀刺死，当时她的邻居听到了尖叫声，但却没有出来救助。

　　'I made a pledge to myself, right then at age 13,' Sullyrecalls, 'that if I was ever in a situation where someone such asKitty Genovese needed my help, I would choose to act. No one indanger would be abandoned. As they'd say in the Navy: 'Not on mywatch.''

　　萨伦伯格回忆说，当时我13岁，我对自己承诺，如果我处在那样的状况，有热内瓦斯那样的人需要我的帮助，我会选择出手相助。我们不应该不顾那些处在危险中的人，而不会像有些人所说的“这不归我管”。

　　People tell Sully that his success on Jan. 15 showed a highregard for life. Their words led him to reflection. 'Quitefrankly,' he says, 'one of the reasons I think I've placed such ahigh value on life is that my father took his.'

　　人们告诉萨伦伯格，1月15日他成功使飞机着陆表现了一种对生命的高度尊重。他们的话让萨伦伯格陷入了沉思。萨伦伯格说，相当坦率地说，我觉得父亲的去世是自己如此尊重生命的原因之一。

　　Suffering from depression, Sully's father killed himself in1995. 'His death had an effect on how I view the world,' he says.'I am willing to work hard to protect people's lives, to not be abystander, in part because I couldn't save my father.'

　　由于不堪忍受抑郁症的折磨，萨伦伯格的父亲在1995年自杀。萨伦伯格说，他的死亡影响了我对世界的看法。我愿意付出艰苦努力保护人们的生命，不会做一个旁观者，一定程度上是因为我没能拯救父亲的生命。